Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, returned to court on Tuesday for the continuation of hearing in his corruption trial, days afer attending the burial of his late mother.
Mr El-Rufai appeared at the Kaduna State High Court in Kaduna under tight security for proceedings instituted by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
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His appearance followed a temporary release granted on compassionate grounds to enable him to attend the funeral of his mother, Ummar El-Rufai, who died in Cairo, Egypt, on Friday.
The burial, held in Abuja on Sunday, drew several prominent political figures, highlighting the former governor’s enduring influence in Nigeria’s political landscape.
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Mr El-Rufai is facing 10 charges of fraud, money laundering, abuse of office and unlawful possession or conversion of public property—allegations he has denied.
The ICPC arraigned him alongside Joel Adoga, whose name appeared as a co-defendant in only one of the 10 counts, while Mr El–Rufai’s name featured in all.
Both defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Following their pleas, the trial judge, Ridwan Aikawa, ordered that they be remanded in ICPC custody pending the hearing of their bail applications scheduled for today (31 March).
Mr El–Rufai had been in custody since 18 February based on a prior court order, which was renewed following his arraignment on 24 March.
But between 24 March and today, ICPC released Mr El-Rufai from custody on its own volition without recourse to the court that ordered his remand. ICPC reportedly released the former governor on Friday on compassionate grounds to enable him to mourn his mother’s passing and be part of her funeral rites. The gesture drew criticisms from lawyers and other members of the public who accused the ICPC of snubbing the court order remainding Mr El-Rufai till today.
On Tuesday, he first appeared at the Kaduna State High Court in Kaduna, where a separate corruption case is pending against him, before proceeding to the Federal High Court in Kaduna, for the hearing of his bail application.
Charges
In the charges pending at the Federal High Court, ICPC accused Mr El-Rufai of fraudulently taking inflated severance pay of about N289.8 million at the end of each of his two terms in office, instead of N20 million that he was legitimately entitled to on each occasion.
The anti-graft agency alleged that Mr El-Rufai took the first N289.8 million in September 2020 – after completing his first term in office in May 2019 – and the second N289.8 million in January 2023 – months before the end of his second term in May 2023.
The pays totalled N579.7 million, instead of the about N40 million he was said to be entitled to for the two terms.
The commission added that each of the pays “represents 300% of your annual basic salary which you reasonably ought to have known that such fund formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act, to wit: corruption.”
It said the offences were contrary to Section 18(2}(d) and punishable under Section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition} Act, 2022.
In the other eight counts, ICPC accused Mr El-Rufai of receiving deposits of alleged proceeds of corruption and fraud totalling $817,900 in tranches in his Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) domiciliary account. He allegedly received the deposits while he was serving as the governor of Kaduna State.
ICPC said Mr El-Rufai, who served two terms as governor from May 2015 to May 2023, received the deposits in tranches, ranging from $4,000 to $320,800. He allegedly received the deposits in the same domiciliary account from various individuals between 2016 and March 2023.
His co-defendant, Mr Adoga, appeared as a defendant in only one out of the 10 counts. But the commission named him in another count as one of the persons who deposited money in Mr El-Rufai’s dollar domiciliary account.
ICPC rearrested Mr El Rufai on 18 February as soon as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) released him after two days of detaining him over corruption allegations.
PREMIUM TIMES reported earlier this month that the ICPC explained in a court filing that it was detaining Mr El-Rufai to conclude his investigation.
ICPC gave the explanation in a filing opposing a suit Mr El-Rufai filed the suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja, alleging that his arrest and detention violated his fundamental rights. He asked the court to declare the actions of the anti-graft agencies unlawful and to award him N1 billion in damages.
But the ICPC said it started investigating Mr El-Rufai after receiving a petition accusing him and officials of his administration of financial misconduct between 2015 and 2023.
The petition raised allegations relating to loans obtained by the Kaduna State Government, procurement processes, transfers from government accounts and payments to companies and individuals.
ICPC said it began preliminary investigations and obtained documents from banks and government institutions. It then issued an invitation letter dated 9 February.
Mr El-Rufai is also facing prosecution by the State Security Service (SSS) over alleged phone-tapping claims involving the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed 23 April for his arraignment in that case.
